Nico and Hermione were enjoying the next days to their fullest, as only time fated lovers could. In only a few days, Rachel Dare would arrive. Any minute, the world might burn around them. At times like that, life was about living it to its fullest.
Their time went with kissing, talking, flirting and kissing a little more.
That's not to say that they were lazy.
Out in the garden, there was a small training ground. They needed to test Hermione's powers in Ogygia, but that didn't mean they didn't have anything to do now.
Nico was worried, that Hermione might be too rusty with sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat, so he had brought her out to train. After a light breakfast, they had both gotten dressed in black loose pants, and tank tops. After a light warm-up, they agreed to start out hand-to-hand.
"Are you sure you're ready for this, princess?" He taunted.
"Why don't you come and find out?" She smirked.
And then he charged at her, with no mercy or hesitation. A far cry from their early day training sessions.
She managed to grab one arm, twisting it around and flipping him over her shoulder, making him land on his back, the air knocked from his lungs. As retaliation, he grabbed her ankle, pulling her foot out from under her, making her cry out in surprise, but he hadn't expected her to manage twisting in her fall to land on top of him, knocking the air from his lungs for a second time.
She kissed him with a cheeky smile and got up, stretching her arm out to help him up. "Again?" she asked with a smirk.
Next round it was her time ending on her belly on the ground, Nico sitting behind her, his arms around her neck and head, in a choke hold.
"And you're dead." He said cheerfully
She growled and tried to kick him from behind, making him chuckle.
Eventually she had to admit her defeat.
The next round was hers though. He charged at her again, but this time, she sidestepped, kicking him behind his right knee, making him buckle. She then stood behind him, choke holding him. He managed to stand up again, and somehow flip her over. She landed with surprising grace, twisting around and sweeping his knees. She flipped him onto his belly secured his arms behind his back, testing out a non-verbal sticking charm. She then put him in the same choke hold he had held her in.
"Give in?" She teased. He growled his assent and she released him. He rolled to his back, struggling to get up, his hands still stuck.
"You fight dirty" he glowered, ever the sore loser.
"Smart, Pretty boy, I fight smart." She smirked.
Having properly warmed up now, they decided moving on to the swords. Nico picked up the swords that were lying off to the side, while Hermione checked her wrappings.
"We're going to have an audience" She said over her shoulder, seeing Frank, Piper, Leo and Calypso coming towards them. "You want to give them a show?" Nico asked, giving Hermione her custom made sword.
Her only reply was a smirk, which he copied.
They went a few small rounds, training basic moves, testing, to make sure they were still in tune with each other.
The others had come around to sit, watching them train.
Nico looked over at Hermione.
"Like old times?"
"Like old times." She confirmed.
Nico crouched down, putting a hand on the ground, feeling for the restless souls of soldiers in the Underworld, who had died, looking for a fight.
When he stood up, the ground cracked, and ten zombies clawed their way out of the earth.
The others looked on, slightly horrified, while Hermione was jumping on the balls of her feet smiling maniacally in sheer uncontained excitement.
They went back to back, fighting zombies, slicing and stabbing, dancing around each other. Thick black blood was spraying or oozing everywhere, making their weapons slick, and covering them in black specs and smears. Hermione wasn't the most traditional fighter.
When she was down to the last zombie, she kicked him down, much like she had done with Nico. Only instead of a choke hold, she grabbed the guy's hair, decapitating him, her specialized sword gliding through the zombie flesh like a knife through butter.
In the end, she stood, panting, holding a severed head in one hand and her sword in the other.
"Man," she said to Nico, throwing the head down on the ground, where the other zombie bodies and severed limbs were already dissolving "I always feel better after a good decapitation"
"You always say that" He chuckled, as they were walking towards their shocked friends.
…
"That, was mind-blowing, you guys." Frank exclaimed, a little disturbed, watching as they stood, covered in blood in front of him.
Leo looked at Hermione curiously, as she cleaned her sword.
"Hey, Milkshake, can I see your sword for a bit?" He asked Hermione.
She gave Nico a quick glance.
"Sure, just don't go anywhere with it, I want to clean it properly" she replied, throwing the sword to Leo, who yelped and fumbled with it, making Frank chuckle.
Leo finally got the sword under control, and started studying the blade.
"Whoa… Is this what I think it is?" he asked, pointing at the black swirls.
"Depends what you think it is." Nico replied.
"Celestial Bronze with a Stygian Iron fusion? Leo asked with incredulous awe.
Piper looked at the sword over Leo's shoulder with a small gasp
"It's so beautiful" she gushed.
"I've never seen anything like it. This might be one of the most dangerous blades in the world" Leo said excitedly "I mean, this is ingenious. Where did you even get this?" he asked, looking at Nico and Hermione.
"Thanks, I guess." Nico said, rubbing his neck, embarrassed at the inadvertent praise. "I designed it, and my dad had it made for her."
"You? You designed this? And Hades, the Hades, had it made especially for you?" Leo asked incredulous, pointing at Nico and Hermione respectively.
"Yeah. My dad always had a soft spot for Hermione. I think he's trying to make a trade off with Poseidon actually. No such luck though. I'm not the greatest prize, compared to her, I'm afraid" Nico said, hugging his girlfriend from behind.
"How would he know that?" She asked, looking down away.
"What do you mean?" Frank asked.
"Well, you all met your godly parents, right? Poseidon never deigned to show himself to me." She spat bitterly.
"Hey, he'll turn up. One day, when you least expect it." Nico told her gently, taking her hand.
The two of them walked back into the house to wash up.
As they went, Hermione was unwrapping her hands. She had bound them, all the way up to her elbow, hiding the wound from her torture, that Nico knew was still bothering her.
"We should see Will about this", he said, gesturing at her forearm.
She sighed "I don't know if he can do anything about it. Magic is different here, and it was made with a cursed blade."
"Can't hurt to try." He coaxed.
She could see his point, but couldn't shake a feeling of unease.
"Okay. We'll try" she conceded in the end. "After Ogygia"
…
Percy wasn't having a great time. Hermione wasn't speaking to him. When he had cut his leg during sword practice, Will Solace healed him perfectly as he always did, but there were no smiles or small talk.
Piper was also a bit chilly towards him, but the others were trying, even if their smiles were a bit stiff.
What made matters worse was, that Nico himself was trying, and even turned out to be a caring and attentive boyfriend. It was really difficult to hate him. He supposed this was what Leo meant, about the frustration of trying to hate a good guy.
Sometimes though, he still felt like wringing the guy's neck, when he saw him sneaking a kiss with Hermione or pulling her with him into the shadows.
He knew he should apologize, but that was easier said, than done (pun intended).
He was lucky to run into Nico alone in the dining room, one evening. Rachel was coming back, and they really needed to clear the air before leaving for Ogygia.
Nico was walking in the opposite direction, but Percy stopped him in his tracks.
"Hey, man. Can we talk?"
"Well, I certainly know, that you're capable." Nico snarked back.
"Look, I'm sorry, for jumping down your throat like that."
Nico looked at him with a raised eyebrow, looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"It's just, that this is really very confusing for me. This whole big brother thing is throwing me off, and I honestly thought you didn't like girls!" Percy exclaimed
"I don't, to be honest. Like girls, that is. Only her. I don't know why, it's always just been like that." Nico tried to explain.
"That doesn't make any sense." Percy deadpanned.
"It does if you know her. Maybe you should try that. You're not the only one, who thinks the situation is weird. True, I told her about you, and you didn't know, but at the moment, she's under the impression that you don't like her. Fix. It." Nico ranted.
"I just think she's overreacting a bit. I don't know how to approach her. It seems that all I do is make her angry." Percy tried.
"I know you got off on the wrong foot, but you can fix it. I can try talking to her for you, making her see it from your perspective."
"Thanks man! I really owe you one"
"Consider us even, after keeping your sister secret for several years." Nico said, winking at him.
…
Nico had been on his way to the kitchen for a drink, when he ran into Percy. Grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge, he went back to the living room, where Hermione was still tinkering with the fireplace.
He tapped one of the water bottles against her knee, and she came out, again covered in soot.
"I've almost got it, I think." Hermione exclaimed excitedly.
"That's great, Princess" Nico smiled, then turning serious, sitting down next to her.
"How long are you going to give Percy the cold shoulder?"
"I just don't understand it. How can they not know you? You've known him for like, a decade, but still, he doesn't know you." She pointed out.
He sighed. "You know, when people meet, they get certain impressions of each other. That impression can really hard to break out of. These guys only see one side of me, but in the end, that's not only their fault. I haven't done much to change that impression. Especially with Percy." He reflected.
"For a long time, I blamed him for Bianca's death. Even though I know that it really wasn't his fault, it's hard to let grudges like that go. That, added to the fact, that I actually had a crush on him once, things between us have always been a bit awkward." He added, embarrassed.
"I don't know, what to make of him though. He found out he had a sister, and threw himself into a river. Not exactly a normal reaction."
"Give him a break. He had no preparation, and besides, the river is his thinking place. Just try to talk with him."
She sighed. "I'll try. I promise. I won't guarantee a good result though." She conceded, putting her head on her shoulder.
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